Apple’s announcement that it’s going to reduce the price to replace some iPhone batteries gives those holding on to older phones a cheaper way to make them last longer — and adds a little nuance to the debate over whether to upgrade or not. Upgrades have already been slowing over the years. When smartphones were […]

Welcome to our last weekly roundup of all the news you can use for 2017. This week, WhatsApp announced that it’s going to end support for BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8.0, so if you have one of those devices and want to keep using WhatsApp then you’re going to have to switch to a […]

Although the budget segment is the most active part of the Indian smartphone market, most people still pay a lot of attention to the high-end flagships. These phones might not sell as much, but they’re a look at the future for the rest of us, and bring the cutting edge of features and performance. Brands […]

The tiny pollinators are useful sentinels of what’s going on in an ecosystem, and might just be environmentalists’ best asset An apiarist tends to beehives at Hastings Urban Farm in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (Courtesy M. Amini) By Rachel Kaufman smithsonian.com December 7, 2017 It’s a sunny day, and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighborhood is buzzing. Commuters […]

Education in traditional knowledge, as well as global issues, form the foundation of this Navajo Nation university By Amy Horowitz, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage smithsonian.com December 7, 2017 We were heading northwest on Interstate 40 on route to the Navajo Technical University (NTU) in Crownpoint, New Mexico. As we drove past Grants, […]

The Xiaomi Mi A1 (review) got a pretty significant price cut recently, but does that make it the best smartphone under Rs. 15,000? Android enthusiasts Aditya Shenoy and Rishi Alwani join host Pranay Parab to discuss. We start by talking about MIUI and how it fares against stock Android. Here Aditya explains why stock Android is great, […]

Vodafone has launched a new plan that offers unlimited data and bundled calls at Rs. 179. The plan is only available in Bihar and Jharkhand circles, and comes with free outgoing calls while roaming within India. However, the data will be limited to 2G speeds, so no high-speed 3G or 4G access with the plan. […]

Apple’s $390 million deal with chip supplier Finisar Corp announced on Wednesday helps lock in the supply of a component that Apple believes will play a big role in its future products by bolstering augmented reality features. And because the parts Finisar supplies are new and in extremely limited supply, the deal also helps Apple lock out […]

A new exhibition of inventions that bombed boldly celebrates the world’s most creative screw-ups By By Franz Lidz, Photographs by Docubyte Smithsonian Magazine | Subscribe December 2017 What’s not to love about My Friend Cayla, a doll designed to be a child’s best friend? Using speech recognition software and Google Translate technology, the talking companion […]

MIT engineers have developed an app that uses smartphone sensors to determine why your car’s making that funny noise What is that sound? (MIT News) By Emily Matchar smithsonian.com December 5, 2017 You’re driving down the road and your car starts to make a “plink, plink” sound. Or maybe it’s more of a “pring, pring?” […]